Ministry of Defence officials have accused Cambridgeshire police of wrongly handing over the investigation of an American fighter pilot who strangled a British woman to the US military, in what they say was a clear breach of a long-standing agreement, according to documents obtained by the Guardian.
The case concerns an off-duty US fighter pilot who assaulted a British woman. Cambridgeshire police allowed US military police to take control of the investigation, meaning the pilot was not tried in an English criminal court. Instead he faced a court martial on a US airbase, where an all-male jury of his fellow air force officers convicted him of strangling an intimate partner but acquitted him of sexual assault. He was dismissed from the US Air Force and confined to a military jail for six months.
The documents, released under the Freedom of Information Act, show MoD officials expressed private concerns about the handling of the case. In a memo written on 8 July, officials based in Washington wrote that the case did not, on the surface, appear to meet the bar for a visiting force to be awarded jurisdiction. Four days earlier, MoD officials had referred to the case in an email, saying: "The decision-making on this specific case seemed at odds with what is very clear" in the agreement. Another MoD official agreed that "as best as we understand the facts, this should absolutely have been for the UK courts".
Under the terms of the agreement between the UK and US, police in the UK have the primary right to investigate alleged crimes by American personnel stationed in the country. The MoD officials said the agreement was "pretty unambiguous" and only allowed the US military to take jurisdiction in narrow circumstances, such as offences committed while on duty or those committed against another member of their forces or their property.
An unidentified Greater Manchester police officer wrote in an email to MoD officials on 6 July that Cambridgeshire police had "wrongly, in my view" handed over the investigation to the US military.
The disclosure of the case by the Guardian in June provoked criticism from Downing Street, which described it as "deeply distressing" and "very concerning" that UK authorities were not involved in prosecuting the pilot. The government has set up a high-level cross-government inquiry, including officials from the Home Office, Ministry of Justice, Foreign Office and MoD, alongside police chiefs, to examine how and why police forces have been transferring investigations into serious crimes to the US military police.
Cambridgeshire police said they were conducting a review of the case with what the force called the assistance of material provided by US Air Force lawyers. The force said it "remained engaged with the victim" and that it was "working with government, wider policing and criminal justice partners to ensure greater clarity of jurisdictional decision making".
The inquiry is also scrutinising a series of other cases uncovered by the Guardian this year, in which police handed over investigations to US military police even though the American perpetrators were off-duty and the British victims had no connection to the armed forces. In each case, the suspects were tried in US courts martial on American bases. The US has more than 12,000 US military personnel stationed in at least 15 bases and facilities in the UK.
Analysis
Why This Matters
- The case calls into question whether British crime victims receive equal justice when their alleged attackers are US military personnel, as they are tried in unfamiliar US courts martial rather than UK criminal courts
- It exposes a potential systemic failure: police forces may be routinely handing over investigations to the US military even when the agreement gives UK authorities primary jurisdiction
- The cross-government inquiry shows the issue has reached the highest levels of government, with implications for the UK-US Status of Forces agreement and the rights of British victims
Background
The case came to light after the Guardian disclosed it in June 2026, prompting Downing Street to intervene. Under the UK-US Visiting Forces agreement, UK police have the primary right to investigate crimes by US personnel stationed in Britain. The US military can only take jurisdiction in a narrow set of circumstances: if the offence was committed on duty or against another member of their forces or their property. A series of cases uncovered by the Guardian this year shows police have handed over investigations even when the perpetrators were off-duty and the victims had no military connection. The US has more than 12,000 military personnel in the UK, concentrated in East Anglia.
Key Perspectives
MoD officials: said the agreement was "pretty unambiguous" and that the Steele case did not appear to meet the bar for the US to be awarded jurisdiction. One official said the decision "should absolutely have been for the UK courts".
Unidentified Greater Manchester police officer: wrote that Cambridgeshire police had "wrongly, in my view" handed over the investigation.
Cambridgeshire police: said they are conducting a review of the case with assistance from US Air Force lawyers and remain engaged with the victim, and are working with partners for greater clarity on jurisdictional decision making.
Sarah Steele: testified at Wulfson's court martial that her experience was "degrading and distressing" and was subjected to invasive questioning by Wulfson's lawyer.
What to Watch
- The findings of the cross-government inquiry, expected to recommend whether the Visiting Forces agreement needs tightening or whether police protocols must change
- Whether Cambridgeshire police's review leads to any disciplinary action or a referral to the Independent Office for Police Conduct
- Whether other police forces in areas with large US military presence, particularly Suffolk and Cambridgeshire, review past cases referred to US military courts
Checked
12 claims in this story checked against 1 source: 12 supported.
Show each claim
- SupportedMoD officials said UK police wrongly handed the US military the investigation of the US pilot.UK news | The Guardian: “Ministry of Defence officials have privately accused a UK police force of wrongly handing over the investigation of an American fighter pilot who strangled a British woman to the US military”
- SupportedDocuments show MoD officials said Cambridgeshire police breached the agreement over the investigation.UK news | The Guardian: “Ministry of Defence officials said the Cambridgeshire force should “absolutely” not have let the US military police take over the investigation in a clear breach of a long-established agreement with the US.”
- SupportedThe pilot was convicted of strangling a British woman and acquitted of sexual assault.UK news | The Guardian: “An all-male jury of Capt Jacob Wulfson’s fellow air force officers convicted him of strangling an intimate partner but acquitted him of sexual assault.”
- SupportedIn a memo written on 8 July, Washington-based MoD officials said the case did not appear to meet the bar for US jurisdiction.UK news | The Guardian: “In a memo written on 8 July, MoD officials based in Washington wrote: “The Steele case does not, on the surface, appear to meet the bar for a visiting force to be awarded jurisdiction.””
- SupportedFour days earlier, MoD officials said the decision-making seemed at odds with what was clear in the agreement.UK news | The Guardian: “Four days earlier, the MoD officials had referred to the Steele case in an email to colleagues, saying: “The decision-making on this specific case seemed at odds with what is very clear” in the agreement.”
- SupportedAnother MoD official said the case should have been for UK courts, as far as they understood the facts.UK news | The Guardian: “Another MoD official agreed that “as best as we understand the facts, this should absolutely have been for the UK courts”.”
- SupportedThe agreement gives UK police the primary right to investigate alleged crimes by US personnel stationed in the UK, with US jurisdiction allowed only in narrow circumstances.UK news | The Guardian: “Under the terms of the agreement, police in the UK have the primary right to investigate alleged crimes by Americans stationed in the country. The MoD officials made it clear the agreement was “pretty unambiguous” and only permitted the US military to acquire jurisdiction over investigations in a “narrow set of circumstances”.”
- SupportedAn unidentified Greater Manchester police officer wrote on 6 July that Cambridgeshire police had “wrongly, in my view” handed over the investigation.UK news | The Guardian: “An unidentified Greater Manchester police officer wrote in an email to MoD officials on 6 July that Cambridgeshire police had “wrongly, in my view” handed over the Wulfson investigation to the US military.”
- SupportedAn all-male jury of the pilot’s fellow air force officers convicted him of strangling an intimate partner and acquitted him of sexual assault.UK news | The Guardian: “An all-male jury of Capt Jacob Wulfson’s fellow air force officers convicted him of strangling an intimate partner but acquitted him of sexual assault.”
- SupportedThe pilot was dismissed from the US Air Force and confined to a military jail for six months.UK news | The Guardian: “He was dismissed from the US Air Force and confined to a military jail on Lakenheath for six months.”
- SupportedDowning Street described the UK authorities’ lack of involvement in prosecuting the pilot as “deeply distressing” and “very concerning”.UK news | The Guardian: “The disclosure of the case by the Guardian in June provoked immediate criticism from Downing Street, which said it was “deeply distressing” and “very concerning” that the UK authorities were not involved in prosecuting Wulfson.”
- SupportedA cross-government inquiry involving named departments and police chiefs is examining how and why police forces transferred serious-crime investigations to US military police.UK news | The Guardian: “The government to set up a high-level inquiry to examine how and why police forces have been transferring investigations into serious crimes to the US military police. The Ministry of Defence, which is responsible for handling the military relationship with the US, is one of the key departments taking part in the inquiry.”